Rebel Princess
by PaganMommyofOne
Summary: Yue's twin sister, Sora, has always been a bit of a rebel, breaking the sexist rules and customs of her tribe. When the Siege at the North Pole leaves her stranded at sea, she meets Zuko and Iroh. Out of the Northern Tribe, Sora is faced with new choices. Can she have the life she wants and the destiny that was given to her? Or will she forever be the Rebel Princess? Zuko x OC
1. Coming of Age

"Did you hear? The Avatar is here! He arrived in our tribe this morning with two of our kin from the South!" Yue's voice shattered the pleasant silence of their shared bedroom. Sora let the water she was bending drop to the floor and turned to her twin sister. They had different hair colors, Yue's white and Sora's dark brown, but other than that were identical. "They'll be with us during our birthday celebration!"

"I forgot that was today," Sora said dryly.

"How could you forget?" Yue asked, her bottom lip sticking out in a small pout.

Sora let out a heavy sigh. "Maybe I just _wanted _to forget," she corrected herself.

Yue stepped closer to her sister and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I know you are upset about the engagements, but it is an honor to do this for our father."

Sora knew she was right. They were princesses of the Northern Water Tribe, and had the duty to marry men that their father had chosen – men that would make good leaders. "How much time until the celebration?" she asked wearily.

"We have time. Let me put your hair up for you," Yue offered, moving to the icy vanity to pick up her brush. Sora glanced at the mirror from where she was and sighed, maneuvering to the stool in front of it so Yue could do her hair in a traditional style, complete with various loops, braids, and beads.

"I wonder if they have such silly customs in the South," Sora commented. She sat with her ankles crossed, back street, and hands folded in her lap as she had been taught to do since childhood.

"You could ask the girl that came with the Avatar," Yue suggested. "Her name is Katara. She looks about our age."

Sora raised her eyebrows. "And she traveled with the Avatar?"

"Yes, her and her brother," Yue answered.

"Imagine what father would do if one of us left on an adventure," Sora mused. She carelessly flicked the water that she had dropped on the floor back to her fingertips. Most of it had frozen and become part of the building, but what hadn't she quickly warmed with her bending so she could comfortably fiddle with it.

"You shouldn't say such things," Yue scolded gently. "Father would be devastated."

"I wouldn't actually leave," Sora scowled, weaving the water around her arm like a bracelet. "But it's still amazing to think of two kids our age going on a trip across the world with the Avatar of all people."

Yue began to separate sections of hair to put into loops. "I'm just so happy that the Avatar is alive and well. He can stop the Fire Nation."

Sora rolled her eyes. "The Fire Nation has never been able to touch us. They're too pussy to handle being this far North."

"Sora!" Yue scolded her again.

"No one heard me, Yue. This is our bedroom," the waterbender pointed out. She brought the water to her fingertips and froze it into spikes that almost looked like claws.

"We'll be married soon," the white-haired woman responded softly. "Your husband will not be pleased if you talk like that in the bedroom that you'll share."

Sora smirked; the notion that her future husband would find her vulgar amused her. "Then I guess we'll just have to have separate bedrooms."

Yue's frown deepened. "I doubt he will allow that."

Sora grabbed Yue's hand to pause her handy-work. "You know that our husbands can't tell us what to do, right? If we're not comfortable kissing them, sleeping in the same room as them, or talking to them, we don't have to."

"We still need to make children," the more practical princess responded.

Sora snorted. "Then they better not be arseholes."

"Sora!"

"And, if your husband tries to make you do anything you don't want to, you tell your waterbending sister and she'll kick his sorry arse all the way to our sister tribe!" Sora finished the declaration by flinging the spikes into the wall, embedding them deeply.

Yue flinched and resumed her work on her twin's hair. "You're not supposed to use your waterbending to fight," she said quietly. They had this conversation before, many times over. Sora had discovered she was a waterbender when she was only a toddler. She always loved to use it to her advantage, whether it was in a snowball fight, or when she froze a boy for picking on her friend when they were children.

But, the Northern Water Tribe had customs, and she was punished for using her bending in such a way. She went to the healers' huts as a child and learned how to use her bending for "women's work." Fortunately, she befriended a boy named Ugalik, another waterbender. Ugalik learned from the masters with the other boys and then would practice with her in secret. She, of course, added her own flairs. The fingertip spikes was her favorite move.

"I know, I know, Yue. It would be shameful if someone found out that the princess liked fighting. I can't help it. I was born to waterbend. And healing barely uses any water," Sora grumbled. "No matter how many times you tell me not to, I'm still going to do it."

Yue sighed. "I know. I just worry about you." She finished Sora's hair loops and took a step back.

Sora grinned and stood to face her sister. "Don't worry about me. It's my job to worry about you."

Yue smiled sheepishly. "Shall we greet our guests?"

"We shall." They linked arms and walked together to the great hall.

The princesses waited just outside the great hall at a back entrance that opened to the head table, Yue with a genuine smile and Sora with a forced one. "My daughters," a familiar voice greeted them, filled with kindness and love.

"Father," Yue greeted him first, kissing his cheek before Sora stepped up to do the same.

"Happy birthday," the Water Tribe Chief said fondly. "I have something for each of you." He pulled two small boxes out of his sleeve. The twins each bowed respectfully before taking their individual gifts. "Open then," their father encouraged.

They smiled softly at each other before lifting the lids at the same time. Each had a bracelet made of a simple white gold band with a charm hanging off of it. The charm was a delicate stone with the moon and stars carved into it. "For Yue and Sora," their father said, placing a hand on each of their shoulders. "My moon and sky."

"Thank you, Father," Sora said quietly, sliding the bracelet onto her wrist.

"Yes, thank you," Yue added.

"Let's go feast," Arnook said affectionately, leading his daughters into the great hall.

"Greetings my kin!" he called out to the crowded room. Sora and Yue trailed behind him. "Today we celebrate the coming of the Avatar and our brother and sister from the Southern Water Tribe." The room applauded, some people shouted. The princesses calmly kept their arms tucked in their sleeves. Sora's fingers fiddled with her new bracelet. Arnook continued his speech. "Today is also the day that my daughters, Sora and Yue, are of marrying age." He swept his arm to the side to present them.

The two girls stepped forward in unison. Yue smiled at her kin before she spoke. "Thank you, Father. Together, let us celebrate the return of the Avatar and the return of hope!"

The great hall erupted in more applause. The noble family found their seats signaling the feast to begin. Various cooks came out and placed steaming food on the tables. Sora and Yue were seated next to their guests from the south and politely waited until their guests helped themselves.

"Sooooo," the Avatar began. "Does any of this not have meat?" he asked raising his eyebrows and looking around the table. The man from the Southern Tribe ignored him and reached across him for the bowl of steamed pork dumplings.

"The noodles," Sora answered. "Some of them are meat free. You're a vegetarian?" The Avatar was wearing the clothes of Air Nomads and had an airbender's tattoos.

"Yeah, the monks are all vegetarians," he answered, taking the bowl of noodles he saw and filling his plate.

"So," the southern man said. "You're the princesses. You know, I'm kind of a prince myself where I come from."

The southern woman snorted. "Prince of what?" she teased. Sora ducked her head to hide an amused smirk.

"Of things!" the southern man retorted.

Yue laughed softly at his reaction. "A prince, huh? Prince…?" she trailed off looking for his name.

"Sokka," he answered, leaning an elbow on the table and flashing a suave smile.

"It's nice to meet you Sokka," Yue answered, bending her torso into a weird form of a sitting bow. "I'm Yue and this is my sister, Sora."

"I'm Aang," the Avatar waved over Sokka shoulder.

"I'm Katara," the southern woman said. "It's nice to meet you."

Sora glanced over both of the Southern Tribe folk. "Are you… siblings?" she asked nosily as she ladled some fish stew into her bowl.

"Unfortunately," Katara answered her as she warily glanced at Sokka shove giant bites of food into his mouth.

He glared at her and said something incoherent with his mouth full. Yue softly giggled again, but Sora was interested in the Katara.

"Forgive my bluntness, but are you a waterbender?" she asked, her eyes focused on the younger girl.

Katara's eyes brightened and a smiled flashed across her face. "I am!" she said, clearly proud of the fact.

Sora leaned forward so she could see her better. "What did you learn there? Did you…" she stopped short when she saw Katara's face instantly fall.

"That's why we came here," she answered. "There are no masters in the south. I am the last waterbender left of the Southern Water Tribe. Aang and I are both going to master waterbending."

Sora blinked slowly. What could she say? That Katara might as well back her bags now. Should she offer to teach her in secret as Ugalik had done with her?

"And now a demonstration from master Pakku's disciples," Arnook disrupted Sora's thoughts. Everyone grew silent as young boys began to create great waves and controlled, floating streams of water, twisting them around each other like some sort of dance. Sora fought the urge to stand up and show off her own skills; she could bend just as well if not better than these boys!

The demonstration continued for quite some time. Everyone but Sora watched with delight while the young waterbender forced a fake smile on her face, jealousy burning deep inside her. It was completed near the end of the meal. Most of the people had pushed their plates away and a few took the opportunity to move around and mingle with each other.

Sora stood up and nodded to her sister and their guests. "I'm going to go to bed. It's been a long day. I will see you all again soon."

Aang and Katara waved to her. Sokka seemed focused on her sister even as she stood up to give Sora a goodnight hug. "I'll be back soon," she promised.

Sora nodded and turned on her heel to leave out the back door hearing Sokka's voice behind her say, "So I'll be in town for awhile. Would you like to maybe do… an… activity together?"

She rolled her eyes to herself and glanced back at her grinning sister, trying to somehow magically remind her that she shouldn't be getting Sokka's hopes up because there was no way that Father would let him be her husband. The palace's halls were quiet, but she liked when they were like this. She went to the parties out of accord and custom and put on pretty smiles and gave gracious greetings, but that was Yue's thing. Still, her sister was her best friend. She had a few other tribesmen that she enjoyed that were her age, mostly Ugalik and her other friend Amaruq, but both of them were new recruits and required to serve guard duty for their army during festivals. She couldn't exactly ask her father to make sure they attended her birthday celebration now that she was to be married.

Sora pondered over the engagements for a moment. Her father no doubt already had some considerations in mind. She wondered if she could somehow hint Ugalik to him. He was a waterbender and a dedicated warrior. Even Amaruq was smart and undeniably handsome.

What she really wanted was to the delay any sort of marriage until she decided on a husband for herself. She knew that it was unlikely that she would fall in love with a great warrior, but the tribe could at least give her a chance! After all, it wasn't like your womb would dry up if you weren't married and pregnant by the time seventeen rolled around.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Sora entered her bedroom and collapsed on the layer of pelts that served as her bed. She groaned as a decorative shell dug into her scalp and sat up to yank her hair out of the elaborate style Yue had worked so hard to create, tossing the shells and ties on the vanity with malice. She glanced at the moon before crawling into her bed and falling into a restless sleep.

* * *

Sora found herself awake long before her sister. Yue was snoring softly on her pelts, curled into a ball. The sun had not fully risen in the sky yet, but that meant very little this far north. In the summer, the sun barely set. In fact, it didn't for three whole days. In the winter it was the opposite. Now, in early spring, the sun was just beginning to return to them and would be up for a few hours in the midday.

Sora stood up and prepared herself for the day, including a parka that was white compared to the usual purple. She glanced at her sleeping sister before slowly sliding out of their bedroom. Yue had returned late last night. Sora had heard the princess open their round, wooden door and collapse on her pelts despite how quiet she had tried to be. Sora had a suspicion her twin had spent much of the time talking to Sokka.

The waterbender had become very good at making sure no one followed her as she walked through the palace, including the servants. The last thing she wanted was an escort to boat her around the city. Slipping out of the palace, Sora pulled the hood of her parka up and tied it so the wind couldn't blow it back down. The ice paths and buildings had not changed since long before she was born, maintained by the benders of their tribe. Occasionally, someone might add another layer to their home if two families were joined in marriage or if someone had a child, but they were never torn down and started from scratch. Same with the water way streets, the bay where the fishers went, and the people – all flowing steady together in a familiar ocean that Sora called home. She could maneuver through the streets with stealth and grace, her feet remembering every slick spot and stone.

She went to the place she went almost every morning: a hidden perch looking down on Master Pakku's students. The color of her parka helped keep her hidden. She bended the snow so it hid her from view but left her eyes exposed to watch. She couldn't learn as much this way as she did with her sessions with Ugalik, but she was going to take every opportunity she could to learn, even if it was against the law.

Aang and Katara approached the group quickly, not wanting to miss Pakku's deadline of 6:30am. Sora bit her lip subconsciously as a pit grew in her stomach. She had gotten distracted last night and never told Katara about the rules of the north.

"There has seemed to be a misunderstanding," Pakku began. "You didn't tell me that your friend was a girl." Sora gritted her teeth together.

"Is… that a problem?" Aang asked, clearly confused.

"In the Northern Water Tribe, women are not allowed to fight. They learn how to heal from Yugoda," Pakku explained with a scowl.

"That's not fair!" Katara shouted, stepping forward stubbornly. "I want to fight!"

"I can see that," Pakku huffed. "But our tribe has rules, customs."

Aang stood next to his friend defensively. "If you won't teach Katara, then I won't learn from you!"

"Ooooh," Pakku began sarcastically, "well then have fun teaching yourself waterbending."

Katara's expression changed. "No! Aang didn't mean that." She then turned and said some things to the Avatar that were too soft for Sora to hear from her perch before leaving with her shoulders slumped.

Sora couldn't focus on the rest of the lesson. Eventually, she found that she wasn't even sitting in a position where she could see them, but was instead facing the opposite way with her knees to her chest in deep thought. She was angry, furious even. The Fire Nation, the most ruthless country in the world, had no stupid sexist regulations. And yet here she was, in the untouchable land of the north, unable to do anything except weave, sew, and pop out babies.

Sora wanted to groan… or chuck a snowball at Pakku's head. But she couldn't because she was a princess.

She needed to take a walk to let off steam, letting her hood drop down. The rest of the city began waking up and people were riding the water streets on their canoes. You children were playing in the snow while the older ones walked to the schoolhouse to learn reading, writing, arithmetic, and the history of the tribe. She passed some men who were getting their sleighs ready to go on a hunting trip inland. Another group of women were chatting to each other as they sewed shell beads onto some blue cloth, discussing the best way to remove fish blood out of clothes. The people recognized her and dipped their heads respectfully as she approached and she did the same back. A few greeted her vocally, but most were used to their princess walking through the streets.

Sora walked by the hut that Yugoda taught healing. "Now, burns are harder to heal than minor cuts, but still fairly simple." The princess paused and peeked in. Katara was there, sticking out like a sore thumb due to her age. Most of the girls learned healing at the age of six or seven, a year before they went to the schoolhouse.

Sora lifted the leather flap that served as a door and tried to enter quietly, all eyes turned to her however. She folded her hands together and bowed. "May I join you Mast Yugoda?"

"Of course Princess!" Yugoda said eagerly. "It's been quite awhile since you've mastered the techniques, but you are always welcome here."

Sora smiled and sat next to Katara on the pelt, focusing on Yugoda's words. It was a repeat of things that she had already learned, yes, but she needed the peace of the healing class.

The class continued for a few hours, the young girls all practicing their bending on the manikin. Sora sat back and watched with her face calm and her back straight. The rage was slowly leaving her, the princess mask she wore becoming easier to maintain. When the lesson came to a close, everyone stood and bowed to each other. The little girls shuffled out of the door, some calling a "Goodbye Master" or "Goodbye Princess" over their shoulders.

"Thank you for the lesson," Katara said to Yugoda when they were the last ones left in the village.

"You're very welcome," the old master said. "And congratulations!"

"Huh?" Katara asked, confused as to what she was being congratulated for.

"Your betrothal necklace," Yugoda explained. Sora's eyes shot to the other waterbender's neck and sure enough a dark purple cloth band with a carved stone hung from it.

Katara's, fingers came up to lightly brush over it. "Oh, no, I think I'm a little young for that. This was my grandmother's. She gave it to my mother and then my mother passed it to me."

"It must be very special to you," Sora said, fiddling with the bracelet her father had given her around her wrist.

Yugoda squinted. "I recognize that carving," she said, stepping close to Katara. "Yes! I don't know what I didn't see it earlier. You're a spitting image of Kanna!"

Katara recoiled, her expression twisting to one of shock. "How do you know my grandmother's name?" she demanded.

"Your grandmother was from the Northern Tribe," Yugoda explained. "She was a very dear friend of mine."

Sora glanced from Yugoda to Katara. She wasn't sure she should be here for this personal story, but she wanted a chance to speak with Katara privately.

"My grandmother was from the north?" the young woman sounded beyond confused.

"Yes! She was arranged to be married to a young man. He carved that necklace for her, but right after the engagement was announced, she left. I never got to say goodbye or ask her why."

Katara blinked her wide, blue eyes. Sora stood there, stunned to say the least.

"If she was engaged, then why would she leave?" Katara asked, bewildered.

"I never knew" Yugoda said quietly. "She was a wonderful woman. I'm glad she found happiness in the South." The older woman bowed and left the room, leaving Katara in a state of shock and Sora awkward.

"The South must be wonderful," the princess offered.

Katara whirled around to look at her. "What?" she sounded as if she had forgotten that Sora was still there. "Oh, well, I guess. I just, there are no water benders left. All I've ever wanted to do was learn how to fight. I didn't know the north had these rules… I mean no offense, Princess."

Sora held up a graceful hand. "It's fine. Our customs are awful. Pakku is a horrible man. I… I was shot down by him as well."

Katara raised her eyebrows. "You're a waterbender?" she asked.

"Yes. I was blessed with the ability, but I lived in a place that does not want me to harness it," the princess took a few steps forward so she could whisper to Katara. "But I didn't let that stop me. I learned, in secret, from a close friend. And I can teach you. I can even show the Avatar some of my own personal moves."

Katara's eyes lit up at the prospect. "When?" she whispered back, "Where?"

"Tonight. Meet me outside the weapon room at half after midnight."

* * *

"Princess Sora?" Aang's young voice called through the empty hallway causing her head to snap in his direction. She brought her finger to her lips to silence him and waved her hand forward to show them the way. She peered cautiously around each corner, grateful that her companions walked with light steps.

Sora opened a side door out of the palace and shuffled them out, her eyes warily darting around to ensure their secrecy. "This way," she said. "It's a bit of a walk, but it'll keep anyone from finding us."

"Are you taking us to where you practice?" Katara whispered back.

Sora nodded once before breaking into a jog, Katara and Aang at her heals. Her place of practice was a hollowed out valley near the shore of the tribe. It used to be used as a place for fishermen to dock their boats, but a storm had maneuvered the landscape and left many high rocks to render it unusable. Sora slid down the hill to the bottom of it, Katara doing the same and Aang using his airbending the jump down gracefully.

"Now," the Rebel Princess began. "What can you guys do so far?"

"I can do the water whip!" Katara stated proudly. She got into position and pulled some of the water out the ocean to show the most advanced technique she new. Sora kept her hands folded in her sleeves as she watched the younger girl shift her weight through the stance.

She nodded in approval. "That was really good."

Aang scrunched up his face as he thought about the best way to show his waterbending skills. His eyes lit up as he seemingly made his decision and spun around quickly, gathering a mass of snow around him to create a snow man.

Sora raised her eyebrows. "Right… well, let me begin by saying that humans are over sixty percent water. Our blood, muscles, and tissue are all filled with water. It flows through us. If we can learn how our own body flows, which is personal, no two people flow the same way, then we can use that to become a stronger bender."

The princess paused and brought some water to her hand, letting it snake around her arm and then her chest and belly and finally her legs individually. "The water is flowing with my heart… with my blood. It flows at my pace, giving me better control of it. Even when it's frozen," she swiped her arms in front of her to collect the water and bring it to her fingertips in frozen spikes, "it is still flowing."

She threw her spikes towards a long forgotten fishing crate in the hallow. "I invented that one," the princess murmured. "I call it ice stilettos, and they're pretty easy to get the hang of. The hardest part is redirecting them after you've thrown them."

Katara and Aang were both looking at her with wide eager eyes. "Why don't you guys go ahead and try?" she suggested.

Her students grinned at each other before pulling some water out the ocean. They were slower than her as they brought the water to their fingers and froze the element, but neither of them were poor. They had a natural talent for waterbending. "Instead of throwing them, try to unfreeze them and find your flow. Once you've found it, re-freeze them. Try it a few times until your flow becomes second nature to you," Sora instructed, folding her hands back into her sleeves.

The two students followed Sora's guidance, following the same movements that she had done earlier, their teacher smiling proudly. She loved doing this, sharing her love and knowledge of her art.

Without warning, the flowing water that surrounded Katara and Aang flew into the air. Sora whipped her hands out of her sleeves and turned around sharply. Her fingers reflexively gathered the nearest water and snow she could find into her ice stilettos and took a stance to fire them at whoever had manipulated Katara's and Aang's lesson.

There couldn't have been worse people at the top of the hill. Pakku and a few of his students were there, Ugalik included. He was wearing a deep frown and his eyes were full of shame.


	2. The War Comes North

**A/N: Hi everyone, **

**Thank you for reading, favorting, and following. A special thanks to The Amazing Mumbo for reviewing my first chapter. Yes, I do like longer chapters and try to make them at least 4K words. I think you can get wrapped up in updates easier if they're longer.**

Two quick notes, first being that I PROMISE this will be Zuko x OC. Zuko will show up shortly, but I do need a few chapters to set everything up and show who Sora is.  


**Note number two is that I am a working mom and have another story that I'm writing is normally I won't be adding chapters this quickly. I will update as often as I can of course, but it's not **normally** going to happen.  
**

* * *

"You sold me out!" Sora shrieked, flinging her spikes straight at Ugalik. Pakku easily brought up a wall of snow to catch them and dropped it again. Katara and Aang looked like frightened puppies. Sora just looked furious. Her tanned cheeks were tinting red from anger. "I trusted you Ugalik! I trusted you like a brother! How could you do this to me?" Ugalik just looked away from her icy gaze.

"Enough!" Pakku snapped. "You've disrespected me, my tribe, and my culture."

"The only disrespect found here is from you! You are nothing but an arrogant, sexist arsehole!" Sora screamed. She threw her other hand of spikes at the master. He deflected them in the same way he had previously.

Pakku glared at the princess. "You'd best hold your tongue behind your lips, Princess Sora. From what I've been told, you've been disobeying the customs of our tribe for years. I'm sure your father will be saddened when he hears of this."

Sora glanced at Katara and Aang. The Avatar had maneuvered in front of his friend, subtly protecting her. Katara looked just as angry as Sora.

"We will escort the three of you to your rooms. The chief will hear of this in the morning," Pakku said. The waterbenders that were around him slid down the hill, taking them by their arms.

Ugalik reached for Sora but she pulled away from his touch. "Don't you _dare _touch me," she snarled.

The young man's eyes filled with hurt, but he withdrew his hand. "I still have to escort you," he said quietly.

Sora rolled her eyes. "Whatever," she snapped, marching forward. Aang and Katara were already halfway up the hill.

"Sora, please just…"

"I'm _Princess _Sora," she interrupted him. "And I won't 'just' anything for you."

Ugalik's mouth snapped closed. He silently followed the princess up the hill. She sent icy glares to Pakku who regarded her smugly. Not only was he destroying what she had worked so hard for, he was also threatening her to tell her father like she was a child.

But, there was still one thing he couldn't take away from her – her bending. She was already a master. Nothing he could do would change that.

As promised, Ugalik escorted Sora all the way back to her room, carefully keeping a safe distance from her. She was about to walk into her room and slam the door when his desperate voice stopped her.

"Sora, I love you," his voice could barely be heard, it was so quiet.

"You have a funny way of showing it!" she snapped, whipping around and jamming her finger against his chest as she spoke. "I gave you all my trust and you betrayed it. That's not love."

"I do! I really do. But you turned sixteen yesterday and it was announced that you could marry. I knew that your father would never allow me to be your husband. But now, well maybe, we have a chance," his voice was strained. Sora's eyes were about to bulge out of their sockets. "The other men may be less eager to well… you know. I did this for…"

"You sold me out so you could get a chance to _MARRY ME?!_" Sora had never been more furious in her entire life. Ugalik winced at her tone. "How could you be so stupid? You just wanted me in trouble so you could get in bed with me!"

"It's not like that! I lo…"

"Oh I know," she cut him off again. "You 'love' me. Well, Ugalik, I will _never _marry you. I will never laugh with you, bend with you, or touch you again. You betrayed me."

"I…"

"Goodbye Ugalik," she slammed her door shut as soon as she finished. She wanted to scream. She wanted to freeze stupid Ugalik and his stupid ideas.

"What's wrong?" Yue was sitting up in her pelts, staring at her sister with concerned eyes.

"Ugalik told Pakku what we've been doing. Pakku came to our practice sight while I was with Katara and Aang. He's going to tall Father tomorrow," Sora managed to explain through clenched teeth.

Yue's jaw opened in surprise. "Ugalik told? But he's your best friend."

"Not anymore," Sora snapped. She curled into her belts and wrapped her arms around her legs.

"I'm sorry," Yue whispered quietly. "I'm sure everything will be alright though."

"No," Sora whispered back. "I don't think it will."

* * *

The morning came too slowly. Sora didn't sleep but lay in her pelts with her stomach twisting in anxiety, just wanting to get the inevitable over with. Their nursemaid, Ila, had come in and told them that their father requested them in the great hall. The sisters got ready together and walked in line. Yue appeared more nervous than Sora, but both felt it in their guts. Their father was a just man and always very kind to them, but he also had his duties to his tribe.

The great hall had only a few people there, mostly elders and Pakku's students. Chief Arnook looked tired as he watched his daughters approach. They bowed in unison before Yue walking to the side of the room and Sora joining Aang and Katara at the bottom of the stairs that led to the chief.

"Master Pakku has informed me what has happened. The three of you have disrespected our customs. Master Pakku was very clear on the matter and you disobeyed him," Arnook said, his voice weary.

"Then we need to change our customs!" Sora took a step forward and thrust her chin out. "I can fight just as well as any boy my age. And Katara has the right to do the same!"

Arnook held up his hand to silence his daughter as Pakku took a step towards her. "The customs are there for a reason. Respect for your elders is something the Water Tribe instills as children. I cannot teach the Avatar with this blatant lack of respect."

All three youths felt their jaws drop. "You can't punish Aang for what I did!" Katara yelled stepping forward.

"He's the Avatar! You can't just refuse to teach him!" Sora's hands clenched into fists.

"Maybe if you sucked up your pride and apologized, then Pakku would be more forgiving," Arnook suggested.

Sora bristled. "Forgiving? Is that what this is? Pakku is supposed to forgive _us_?"

"Sora, enough," Arnook scolded. He turned his gaze to Katara expectantly.

The young woman was gnawing furiously at her lip. "No!" she cried. "I won't apologize. I challenge you," her finger flung towards Pakku. The old master seemed unimpressed. "Unless you're not man enough to fight me," she added at the end.

"I will fight as…" Sora began.

"No," Arnook cut her off sharply. "You will fight no one. Come here."

Sora glared back at her father. She turned and saw Katara marching out of the palace and itched to follow her. Her companions were following her with worried glances. Pakku glanced back at the chief before also following, his students at his side.

Arnook gestured for Yue to also come to the front. The white-haired princess walked slowly, her head down. "You knew your sister was doing this," he said as a comment instead of a question. Yue nodded.

The chief let out a sigh and fixed his gaze on Sora. "I am so disappointed in you. You are my Sora, my sky. And yet, you blatantly went against the rules of our tribe." Sora's cheeks began to grow red from her father's words. She bit the inside of her cheek to keep herself from making comments back. "But I cannot address that at this time. The decisions of your husbands have been made this morning." The girls' heads shot up.

Arnook held up his hand and waved it forward. Two men came out of the crowd, Ugalik being one. Sora recognized the other as the warrior Hahn. Each held a necklace with a carved stone latched to it. Sora's stomach dropped to her toes. Arnook stood between his daughters while they glanced nervously at each other.

Hahn bent his knee in a kneel and held out his necklace. "Princess Yue, will you take this carving as a symbol of our engagement?"

"I shall," Yue answered so quietly that barely anyone could here. But Hahn didn't need to be told twice; he stood up and came behind Yue to latch the necklace on her.

It was now Ugalik's turn. He dropped down on one knee and held his necklace out. "Princess Sora, will you take this carving as a symbol of our engagement?"

Sora was holding her breath. She looked around the room at everyone. They were watching her expectantly, waiting for her to agree and him to latch the carving around her throat so they could cheer and the formality would be complete.

"No," she whispered her answer at first. Ugalik snapped his head up stunned. "No," she repeated, louder this time.

"Sora?" her father looked most stunned than angry.

"I don't care if I'm forced to be your wife and birth your babies. I will where your stupid necklace, Ugalik," Sora growled stepping forward. "Now, if you'll excuse me, my friend is in the middle of fighting a master while I'm here dealing with you." She pulled water out from the displays in the great hall and brought them forward to create an ice track for her to slide around the people and out the door on.

"I'm not done with you!" Katara's voice was shrieking. Sora brought her ice track up higher so she could see above the mass of people that had gathered to watch the duel. Katara was trapped inside large, jagged spikes of ice.

"Yes," Pakku sneered back. "You are."

Sora brought her ice track down in front of Katara and got into a stance. "Hey, arsehole!" she called. "There's more than one watering bending girl here!" She melted the ice spikes around Katara easily.

The old master was staring at the ground, seemingly fixated. Sora bended a mass of snow towards him which he bended away with the flick of his wrist as he bent down to pick up what appeared to be a betrothal necklace. "This… is my necklace," he said quietly.

"No, it's mine!" Katara yelled, stepping forward. "Give it back!"

"You heard her Pakku!" Sora said as the girls took their stances. "You can't take us both."

"I carved this for the love my life," Pakku continued, seemingly in his own world.

"My Gran Gran… was engaged to you?" Katara demanded, raising a confused eyebrow and dropping out of her stance. Sora followed in suit.

"I loved her," Pakku said quietly, walking over to Katara and Sora. The crowd that was in the palace had moved out. Sora could see Yue standing by the entrance with Sokka, her bottom lip trembling.

"But she didn't love you," Katara put the pieces together. "It was an arranged marriage. That's why she left. She wouldn't let your customs run her life."

Pakku looked down at the person who could've been his granddaughter with sad eyes. "I never realized…" his voice trailed off. "Perhaps the best way to apologize to her would be to teach her granddaughter the skills of our people. You look so much like her."

Sora's jaw dropped at his declaration. She tried to catch her sister's eye only to see Yue running back into the palace with her face in her hands.

Katara's frown slowly morphed into a grin. She bent her waist in a bow. "Thank you, Master Pakku."

* * *

Sora sat on her mass of pelts glaring furiously at the wall. Two days ago she would've been completely accepting and even a little happy if her father announced Ugalik as her fiancé. Now she was just mad that the pig-headed arse got his way.

"At lease Katara gets to learn how to fight," she mumbled to herself, trying to calm down the anger that had been bubbling inside her since last night. "At least something came out of this whole mess."

Yue burst into the room with tears streaming down her cheeks causing Sora to instantly jump up and rush to her sister's side, wrapping her arms around her tightly. "What's wrong?" she asked quietly once Yue had calmed down enough to pull away. "I… I had wanted to see Sokka. I planned on meeting him before Father made his announcement and I went because I didn't want to not show up after I told him to come." Sora raised her eyebrows while Yue took in a shaky breath. "I don't want to hurt Sokka. And I don't want to hurt either. I thought I would be ok with this marriage, but now that I'm spending time with Sokka, I don't want to get married anymore."

"Shh," Sora hushed. "It'll be alright," she said it though she didn't believe it herself.

Yue pulled away from her. "All my life all I've ever known was to do what Father asked, what our Tribe needed. It used to be easy. But it became so hard today. I wish that we could have the lives we want and the destinies we are supposed to have."

Sora sighed at her sister's words and looked at the moon through her window. "It seems that is a very unlikely scenario," she commented bitterly.

* * *

The days passed slowly for Sora. Her father was having her closely monitored at all times to make sure she didn't sneak off and Ugalik's room with snow – again. But, with Pakku's new mentality, Katara and Aang were learning waterbending. Katara seemed to be born to bend water. She practiced hard with Sora to master the craft faster than the other students. Sora, of course, taught her how to master the ice stilettos and enjoyed practicing with her. Plus, it was nice to have a sparring partner that wasn't Ugalik. Even before the recent events, training with one person everyday was boring and became ineffective once you could predict each other's moves.

Ugalik tried to show his affections for his bride to be in various ways, including candies, carvings, and trinkets. Sora responded by throwing them all into the ocean. Well, all but the candies, which she promptly ate till her belly hurt.

Yue spent time with Sokka. Sora tried to subtly warn her to keep her distance, but she could see the happiness in Yue's eyes every time she got back from a walk with the southern boy. In Sora's opinion, Sokka seemed nice enough, just a little… goofy. She hoped that they wouldn't en up hurt.

Despite the changes that had happened, these days were nice in that Sora no longer felt the need to hide her bending. She noticed that some of her kin regarded her differently, but she was still the princess and demanded respect.

Some weeks after the coming of the Avatar and his companions, Sora, Aang and Katara were walking through the streets after lunch. Aang was ahead of them, playing with Momo in the snow.

"I saw the end of your lesson today," Sora commented. "You were kicking some serious arse."

"Thanks," Katara said, blushing a little at the princess's compliments. "A lot of it is due to having you to spar with all the time."

"I enjoy that as well," Sora said, getting a little quieter. "I wish you guys could stay here. I will miss you when you have mastered bending."

"You could always come with us," Katara offered.

Sora gave her a rueful smile, "alas, my life is here in the North."

"Well, the offer will always be there," Katara said cheerfully.

"That's nice to know. I appreciate it," Sora's smile became happier as she spoke.

There was a break in conversation as they walked in silence for a moment, the only sound being Aang's laughter. "Are siblings have taken a liking for each other," Sora commented after pause.

Katara rolled her eyes. "Yue is all he talks about lately."

"She is the same way," Sora said, flicking some snow around her fingers to fiddle with. "They make a good pair."

"Too bad she's engaged," Katara huffed, clearly annoyed that her brother may end up hurt.

"I wish we were southern," Sora said.

Katara opened her mouth to reply when Aang interrupted them, "Sora, is there any place that we can go penguin sledding?"

Sora smirked a little. "I haven't done that since I was really young. I know a place where we can…" she stopped talking when a black snowflake fell on Aang's nose and turned her head to the sky. The flakes looked… dusty. Almost like coal. Momo caught a snowflake in his mouth and began to cough.

"Oh no," Aang said quietly, following the princesses gaze.

"What is this?" Sora demanded. "What's wrong with the snow?"

Katara held a hand out to her friend's shoulder. "Sora, it's the Fire Nation."

"What?" the yell tore from Sora's lips in a panic.

"It's soot mixed with snow," Katara explained. "It's from the Fire Navy. The war has come to the North."

"The Fire Nation hasn't come to our waters since the beginning of the war. It's too cold here, our walls are too high," Sora stuttered, as if she was trying to prove them wrong when she knew they were right.

Aang twirled his glider around and slammed one end on the ground, his expression changing from his usual joy to one of determination. "I won't let the Northern Water Tribe fall," he promised. "I'm going ahead to warn the chief. Meet me at the palace."

Katara and Sora glanced at each other before taking off into sprints. "Where are Yue and Sokka?" Sora asked as they ran.

Katara looked to the sky wearily. "I don't know, but Sokka knows what the black snow means. He's going to bring your sister back to safety."

Sora nodded once and then turned her focus back to her run. The pair made it back to the palace quickly, but out of breath. Chief Arnook stepped out of the palace as they approached and quickly embraced Sora.

"What's going on?" Sora demanded. "Father?"

The chief looked exhausted. "I've sent scouts out to see how big their fleet is. They should be back soon. In the mean time, we're preparing the great hall to act as a bunker. You need to go to stay in the palace…"

"I can fight!" Sora interrupted her father.

"No!" he had never sounded sterner with her in all his life. "You must stay with your sister. Here, safe."

Sora walked up to her father until she was right in front of him. She was a tall girl and only an inch shorter than him. "For years you have told me to serve my tribe. You wanted me to be a good Princess, like Yue. But I'm not. I can better serve my tribe in combat than I've ever done as its princess," her voice was soft as she spoke, wanting him to really hear her, to know that she wasn't doing this to rebel against him. She was doing this because she believed her words were true. "Can you trust me? Can you trust that I know what I'm doing and I can fight in your ranks?"

"Sora," he began, taking her hands in his, "you are my daughter and I love you. I need you to protect your sister. Watch out for each other. You two are symbols of our nation. If it falls, you two must live."

"It will not fall," Sora said fiercely.

"My decision is made," he ordered. "Now go, swiftly. I will be in there soon once the scouts report to me," he finished, releasing Sora's hands and walking past her.

The princess turned her attention to Katara. "What now?" the younger girl asked.

"Now, we wait," Sora answered, her eyes turning up towards the falling black snow. "We need to find Sokka and Yue."

"They're probably going to the stables," Aang offered. Both the girls looked at him, surprised he had such a specific answer. "Sokka said that he wanted to show Yue Appa today. They'll drop him off," he explained.

"To the stables then," Sora said, beginning to lead the way.

"Your father told you to go inside," Aang pointed out sheepishly.

"He said to protect my sister. I can't do that if she's not with me," Sora called over her shoulder, jogging to the stables. Aang and Katara looked at each other and shrugged before running after her.

The made perfect timing: as they were approaching the stables, Sokka and Yue flew down on Appa. He helped the princess off of the bison, and she was quickly grabbed into a tight hug by Sora.

"The war has come to the North," Sora whispered. "We need to get back to the palace now," she said, breaking off the hug and turning right back around the way she came.

Yue moved slowly, almost as if she was devastated by what was going on around her. Sora linked her arm with her sister's to lead her on. "Hey," she whispered kindly, "it's gonna be ok," she said, trying to convince herself as well. Yue nodded lowly and reached her shaking, gloved hand towards Sokka. He took it within his own.

"She's right," he promised, his voice steady.

The party made their way back to the palace swiftly. It had now filled with people of the North: women were hushing scared children, men were readying their weapons, and the elderly were praying to the spirits. Chief Arnook was not yet in the room, but his people were growing frantic.

Sora looked at her sister; Yue looked terrified. Her eyes were wide and she was shaking slightly. Sokka moved to wrap and arm around her but she pulled out of his touch. "No Sokka!" she yelped. "I'm marrying someone else."

"I was just trying to…" he began.

"No," she repeated. "I said no."

Sora eyed them wearily before looking over her people. Fear was washing over the tribe like a wave. People looked just as scared as Yue. Sucking in a strong, determined breath, Sora began to maneuver through the crowd and walked up the stairs to the place where her father usually stood.

"My kin!" she called out to the large crowd. It suddenly became silent in the large room, with all eyes on the princess. She thrust her chin forward and stood a little taller. "We are the people of the Northern Water Tribe. I know that every single one of us our strong. This civilization has stood for thousands of years and it will not fall today! The Fire Nation will not be the end of us. The will put out their flames with our waves. We will wash away their ships. We will prevail!"

"Sora?" the quiet, surprised voice of Arnook stopped her.

"We will prevail!" a voice shouted from the crowd.

"We will prevail!" another.

"We will prevail!" yet another. Soon, the entire room exploded with the chant.

Arnook walked up to Sora and looked her over. She meant his eyes and repeated quietly, just for his ears, "We will prevail."

"We will prevail," he said back to her before turning to his tribe. He held his hand up to grab everyone attention. "The day that we have dreaded has come. The Fire Nation is at our doorstep. I call upon the Spirit of the Moon and the Spirit of the Ocean to be with us during our time of need. I need volunteers for an important mission. Know that many of you may not return."

"I'll do it!" Sokka's voice shouted from the middle of crowd.

"Sokka!" Katara protested, but her brother ignored her.

"Those who volunteer please line up to receive my mark," Arnook ordered. Sora felt a cool hand slip into hers and glanced over to see Yue joined them in the front. Her glossy eyes were wide and locked on Sokka as he lined up with the other men. Their fiancés were in the line as well. Ugalik caught Sora's eyes, his desperate for her acceptance. At that moment, it was hard to hate him. And, though her gaze remained icy, it was not out of dislike for the man, but instead out of the cold determination that was required of a princess. Yue's tears spilled over as Arnook drew three waves on his forehead – the symbol of the chief.

After Ugalik received his mark, he walked up to Sora, stopping at a comfortable distance. "Princess," he greeted somewhat awkwardly.

"Good luck," she told him, keeping her voice level and calm.

He nodded once and walked past her. Yue's head fell on her shoulder and she felt warm tears soak through her clothes. Arnook finished the line, he calmly walked to her daughters, resting a hand on Sora's free shoulder. "I am proud of you Sora. I know you told me that you would serve me better as a warrior than a princess, but only a true leader could do what you just did."

Sora held her head high. The war had come to the North, but she would be strong.

**If you like this story, check out Something Worth Fighting For**

**Yumi is a sixteen year old girl living in the Southern Water Tribe. She dreams of becoming a great warrior like her mother, but how can she when she is a coward with no one to teach her? When she finds herself on the ship of a certain banished Prince, her life changes completely - again. Will she find her courage? Will he give her something worth fighting for?**

** s/9494557/1/Something-Worth-Fighting-For**


	3. A Princess's Duty

Sora, Yue, and Katara walked across the highest balcony of the palace, looking out at the mass of ships that had appeared on the horizon and seemed to go on forever. "I should've gone with Aang," Katara whispered quietly, squinting to find the flying bison in the scene before her.

"Aang will be alright," Sora replied. "He is too quick on his feet for the firebenders to hit him. We are needed here though.

"I'm not a princess," Katara pointed out.

"No, you're a waterbender. And you are one of our inner defenses if the Fire Nation infiltrates our walls," Sora said sternly. "We are."

"Father doesn't want you to fight," Yue yelped.

"No, he doesn't. But, looking at this fleet, he may not have a choice. He'll need all the benders he can get," Sora said, her chin forward in determination. Fire balls were being thrown at the front wall while benders tried to build them back up as fast as they could so this Fire Nation couldn't waltz through when they got to the shore. The sun was beginning to lower over the horizon. Sora closed her eyes as its bright rays made it uncomfortable to look straight ahead.

"It looks like they're lowering anchor," Katara murmured, squinting. Yue let out a sigh of relief at the younger girl's words.

"They are cowards," Sora cursed. "They don't know how to fight without their precious sun." The light from the stars and moon began to glow more as the sun continued to fall until it completely disappeared, leaving only a thin layer of pink against the otherwise dark sky.

"Look, it's Aang!" Katara exclaimed, running forward to meet her friend as he swooped down on his glider. His shoulders were slumped and he wore an expression of absolute exhaustion and frustration. Katara wrapped her arms around him partly in a happy embrace and partly to keep him upright. "What happened?" she asked gently.

"There's too many," he moaned bringing a hand to his temple. "I can't fight them all."

"But you have to!" Yue insisted, her voice catching. "You're the Avatar!"

"I'm just one kid," Aang replied sadly. Katara rubbed his back to sooth him. "I can't do this by myself."

Sora kneeled in front of him so they were eye level. "You're not by yourself," she promised her pale blue eyes boring into his gray ones. "We are with you. The whole tribe is with you. The spirits are with you."

Something in her words caused his face to light up. He jumped us and whirled around to look at the mass of still ship ominously facing the icy fortress. "The spirits! Maybe I can find them and ask them for their help!" he exclaimed, practically jumping with joy at the notion.

Sora turned to look sidelong at Yue. Her sister had always been the more spiritual one out of the two but she looked just as confused as the waterbender. "How can you do that?" Yue asked softly, the tiniest bit of hope now hanging on her voice by a thread.

"The Avatar is the bridge between our world and the spirit world," Katara explained. "Aang can talk to them."

Yue smiled for the first time that day. "Maybe they can give you the wisdom to win this battle."

"Or maybe they'll unleash a crazy spirit attack on the Fire Nation!" Aang shouted, throwing his hands up in the air to exaggerate the idea. The three women around him stared blankly. "Or, yeah, wisdom's good too."

"Where do you find the spirits?" Yue inquired, genuinely interested in the topic.

"I need to get to the spirit world," Aang explained. "The spirits of the Ocean and the Moon protect this tribe. I need to find them."

"But last time you went to the spirit world, you got there by accident," Katara pointed out practically. "How do you get back?"

Aang scrunched up his face in concentration. "Uhm… well I could… hm…"

"I think I know where we can go to help," Yue chirped. Sora looked at her and raised her eyebrows in surprise. Her sister had a secret spirit world entrance? "Follow me," the white haired princess continued, beginning to lead them away from the wall.

Sora stayed to the back of their line and took another look at the metal ships that seemed to be glaring at her home. She wanted nothing more than to ride out there on a boat and sweep them all away with a giant wave… but she was not that capable. So she followed her sister to her apparent spiritual place.

The place she brought Sora to startled her. It was the moon door that led to the koi fish pond. People would go there to pray. It was spiritual enough, but Sora didn't really see how this would get Aang to the spirit world.

"Is this the door to the spirit world?" Aang asked, inspecting it closely.

Yue chuckled behind her hand. "No, you'll have to get there yourself. But, this is the most spiritual place in all of the North." She pushed open the door and let Aang and Katara enter before her.

Aang squealed and jumped onto the grassy land, rolling around in it. "I never thought I'd miss grass so much!" he exclaimed.

"It's so warm here," Katara commented, sliding her parka over her head. Sora did the same, leaving her in the purple and sky blue dress that hardly anyone saw her in.

"This is the center of all our spiritual energy," Yue explained, also sliding off her parka. "I come here to pray to the spirits quiet often."

"This is perfect," Aang said, rushing over to the koi fish pond. There was a black one with a white dot and a white one with a black dot that swam in a continuous circle. Sora walked next to him and bent down so she could brush her fingers against the water. It was oddly warm to the touch and so soft. Aang sat down next to her and crossed his legs, bringing his hands together in fists. Sora stood up and shot Katara a confused look.

"What's he doing?" Yue asked.

"Meditating," the younger girl explained. "It's to help in cross into the spirit world. It takes all his concentration."

"Is there anything we can do?" Yue asked.

"How about some peace and quiet?" Aang snapped, opening his eyes. "Come on guys, I can hear every word you're saying!"

All three women looked at each other sheepishly and closed their lips, watching as Aang turned his attention back to his work. Sora took the opportunity to look around this oasis that her sister seemingly spent much time in. It was warm, as Katara had said. Warm enough to be uncomfortable wearing a heavy parka. It was also directly above to moon, currently. The large rock illuminated the garden with a soft glow. It was almost full, only one more day. Sora wanted to bend in here but she didn't want to distract Aang or be disrespectful. So, she just continued to flex her fingers to try to rid them of the itching desire.

Without and warning, Aang's arrow tattoo glowed bright blue. "What's going on?" Sora demanded, taking an urgent step towards him.

"It's alright," Katara reassured her. "He's crossing into the spirit world. He'll be fine as long as we don't move his body. That's his way back into the physical world."

"Shouldn't we get help?" Yue asked nervously.

"Aang's my friend," Katara said with a smile. "I'm perfectly capable of protecting him."

"Well, aren't you a big girl now?" a snide, slightly raspy voice said from behind them.

"No," Katara whispered, a look of shock and dread spreading across her face.

All three women whirled around to see a young man, not much older than sixteen, stalking towards them. He was pale and tall – a little taller than Sora. Various bruises and burns adorned his face but one older burn scar stood out. It covered most of the upper left side of his face, including his eye. Whatever had caused it must've been painful. His head was shaven except for a long ponytail sticking out the top. He moved his arms out in a circle motion to collect flames around them, indicating that he was a firebender. Sora shifted into a waterbending stance while simultaneously pulling water out from the waterway the fed the oasis.

"Yes," the man replied to Katara. She also got into a stance. "Hand him over and I won't have to hurt you."

"Get out of here and _we _won't have to hurt _you_," Sora challenged. "You're dealing with two waterbending masters."

The man sneered at her retort and jumped forward, kicking a fireball right at her. Sora reacted quickly, opening her water ball into a bubble like shape to encompass his flame. Katara took the opportunity to attack him, shooting water directly at his side. But he was too fast and ran forward, away from its force.

He sprinted towards them, eyes on Aang. Sora shifted so she was in front of the Avatar and swirled around to gather a ring of water around her, shooting strands out at the upcoming force. He tried to use his foot to kick away her streams but she took advantage of the opportunity he gave and began to freeze up the length of the water to encase his leg.

"Oof," he grunted as she lifted him up and slammed him back to the ground. He thrust his arm forward to punch another fireball at Sora only to have Katara encompass that arm with her own ice.

Sora smirked, "I told you that you don't stand a chance." The man glowered at her and then suddenly blew fire at her from his mouth. She barely had time to gather her water in front of her chest to keep from being burned, but the force of the blast still knocked her to the ground. A cry of surprise pushed passed her lips as she hit the ground hard, the hold she had on the firebender breaking.

"Sora!" Katara cried. The man took his opportunity of her distraction to use his free hand to slam a fire ball onto her ice stream, affectively shattering it.

Sora kipped into a stand, her vision slightly blurred. The firebender was already beside Aang, reaching for his collar. "Don't you dare!" Sora shouted, whipping her arm to collect the water that was in a puddle around her to icy fingertip spikes. She released them in the same motion, sending them flying into the firebender's arm. He flinched back and glared at her. Five spikes were embedded in his flesh, blood slowly dripping around them. She repeated the motion with her other arm, this time holding the stance instead of firing. "Next one will be in your head," she threatened.

Katara recovered and used his distraction to her advantage. She pulled a huge mass of water at him, slamming him into the wall of the oasis and freezing it to hold him in place. He hung there with his head hanging down limply, both of the waterbenders glaring fiercely at him.

"Yue, are you alright?" Sora asked, still in stance. But when her sister did not answer her, she whipped her head around to find that her sister was no longer in the oasis. The sun was just peeking over the walls of the garden. "Yue?" she said again dropping out of her stance.

Katara also turned around to look. "Perhaps she went to get us help?" she suggested.

Sora nodded numbly. "She shouldn't have left though. What if she gets hurt? I can't protect her if…"

The sound of ice shattering turned both of their attentions back around to see the firebender had escaped the icy prison they had made. Fireballs were flying at their faces. Katara brought up water to block it only to be knocked down by the force. Sora let out a startled yelp and ducked so she was flat with the ground, feeling the heat of the flames above her. Both women turned their heads up to see the firebender holding Aang by the back collar of his shirt. Katara moaned softly next to her, having hit her head hard.

"You rise with the moon," the man snarled. "I rise with the sun."

Sora pushed herself to her hands and knees and desperately streamed water towards his ankles in a final resort but he easily kicked them away with flames. He smirked at her as she pulled into a standing position, swaying back and forth slightly. Her dark hair had come loose and danced with the wind and her pale blue eyes were cutting into him. "Release him now!" she yelled, once again forming ice spikes on her fingertips.

The firebender had Aang's body flung over his shoulders. He smirked, kicking one of his legs forward to send a huge stream of fire forwards her. She whirled out of the way and released her spikes, but they melted before they got to him and did little except splash him. Glaring at her, he created a whip made of flames and flared it towards her. She stumbled back, the flames almost catching her sleeve and tripped on Katara's motionless body, falling on top of her hard enough to knock the wind out of both girls.

Sora tried to suck in deep breaths and regain control of herself, rolling off of Katara as not to hurt her. But, by the time she looked up, both the firebender and Aang were gone. Panic surged through her as she looked frantically at the other waterbender.

Katara had reached the point where she could hold her forehead and moan softly. Sora quickly gathered some water to her hands and set them on Katara's temples. The younger girl flinched with surprise. "Just relax," Sora assured her. "I'm healing you." The water around Sora's skin glowed a soft blue for a few second as she began to reduce Katara's swelling and pain. The knot on her head receded.

Once finished, Sora pulled her hands away and let the water fall to the ground. Katara, still clutching her head, slowly sat up. "He took Aang, didn't he?" she asked miserably.

Sora nodded once. "He's probably taking him to whoever is leading this attack."

Katara shook her head. "No, that wasn't a normal firebender troop. He's Zuko, the prince of the Fire Nation. He's been tracking us since we left the South Pole."

Sora's eyes widened slightly. "That was the _prince _of the Fire Nation?!"

"Yeah. He's always hunting Aang… probably to take him directly to his father," Katara seemed to get more nervous at her own notion. "We have to find him!"

The sound groaning from above caused both women to look up. Appa was softly making to land, Sokka and Yue on his back. Once on the ground, Sokka slid off and rushed to his sister to help her to a stand. "What happened?" he demanded.

"Zuko took Aang!" she explained, looking like she was about to cry.

Sokka's expression twisted and as he looked up beyond the border of the tribe. "A blizzard is going on over the walls," he said sternly. "We need to find them before they freeze to death. Everyone on Appa, hurry!"

Momo squeaked and curled up where Aang had just been. Katara gently patted his head. "It's alright. Why don't you stay here in care Aang comes back?" she suggested before joining the other teenagers on the flying bison.

"Yip Yip!" Sokka said, prompting Appa to take off the ground. Katara and Sora sat in the saddle while Yue sat next to Sokka, clinging to his arm. The waterbender slipped their heavy parkas back on and pulled the hoods up. Sure enough, as soon as they passed the outer wall of the tribe, the wind picked up and the snow raged on. Sora squinted at the ground, worried that they would miss them through the wall of white. The flakes began to sting and slam into her face so she brought her hand up and used her bending to create a wall in front of her.

"I don't see them anywhere!" Katara yelled over the wind.

"They couldn't have gotten far in this weather," Sora pointed out, also having to yell so everyone could hear her.

"I'm not worried that they'll get away… I'm worried that they won't," Katara explained sadly.

"They're not going to die!" Sokka assured her. "If we know anything about Zuko it's that he never gives up."

"He was an idiot coming out here in the first place," Sora grumbled to herself. She continued to watch the ground, hoping the by some miracle she would stop them.

"Look!" Katara yelled suddenly, jumping to a stand on Appa's saddle. Sora followed her finger to see what looked like a fast moving, green shooting star fly across the sky and then land somewhat near them. "That has to be Aang!" the waterbender insisted.

Sokka turned the reins in the direction the light went. Being on a flying bison made for fast travel, as they were at the exact spot in less than two minutes. Aang was crawling out of a cave while the firebending prince hurried after him, grabbing him by the collar.

"He's out of the spirit world," Sora observed. Yue shot her a look of hope as they landed on the snow covered ground.

"Appa!" Aang shouted as Zuko dropped him to the ground.

"Came for a rematch?" the prince sneered, getting into a bending stance.

"Trust me," Katara retorted, "it won't be much of a match." Both of the water benders jumped off Appa. Zuko punched a ball of fire at them but they used their combined power to bend a wall of snow to block before thrusting that same wall forward on top of the firebender. They continued to fee the avalanche until their opponent was unconscious and punched back up against the outer wall of the cave.

Sokka jumped down while they fought to undo Aang's binds. "Hey," he commented, "this is some quality rope."

Everyone began to clamber back onto Appa. Sora used her bending to help her up as she was not the most graceful at mounting sky bison. Yue crawled back to the saddle next to Sokka while Aang took the reins.

"Wait," Aang said. Everyone was watching him expectantly, expecting him to say the magic words so they could rise into the air. "We can't just leave him."

Sora realized that he was talking about Zuko. "You mean _that _arse?" she said, her voice slightly shrill.

"Sure we can," Sokka commented, agreeing with her. "Let's go."

"No," Aang said firmly. "If we leave him, he'll die."

Sora grumbled to herself as Aang used his bending to get off Appa and retrieve the firebender, depositing him between Sora and Yue. Sora reached for the ropes that Sokka had set on the saddle, the ones that had previously been around Aang, to tie around the unconscious prince's hands should he wake up. She grunted as she tried to roll him over to complete the task; he was heavier than he looked. She realized that he must have a lot of lean muscle to have his build and still weight this much. Sokka maneuvered slightly to help her. She tied the knots as best she could, but that was another skill that was reserved strictly for males in the North.

Rolling him back over so he could breathe easily, Sora took the chance to examine him. Most of the wounds on his face looked like they would heal well enough in a few days. But, after closer examination, she had been right in her previous thinking that the burn over his eye looked old. It was a deep scar and, judging by the shape and location, had been put there intentionally. She gingerly pressed two fingers to it, tracing along the bottom edge. It was unbelievably soft against her fingertips.

The rest of his skin was pale compared to her own: pale and smooth. His lips were full and set in a deep scowl even in his unconscious state. His face was narrow with high cheekbones, like most from the fire nation, and he had a stubborn, pointed chin that screamed royalty. There were dark circles under his eyes from lack of sleep.

"What are you doing?" Katara's voice interrupted her.

Sora glanced at her wearily, "I've never seen a burn scar before," she made up. "I wanted to know what it would feel like."

The younger girl seemed to except this answer and sat back on her heals.

"Umph," Yue suddenly moaned and grabbed her head. Sokka was in front of her, holding a comforting hand to her cheek in an instant.

"What's wrong?" he asked, his voice filled with concern. The sky grew darker and the glow of the moon began to fade until it was dull.

"I feel faint," she answered, leaning forward slightly so he could support more of her weight.

"I feel it too," Aang said softly. "The moon spirit is in trouble."

At his words, Sora's head whipped to her sister, her eyes growing wide in fear. "I owe the moon spirit my life," Yue commented quietly, vocalizing the unease in Sora's blue orbs.

"What do mean?" Sokka asked, timidly sliding an arm around her shoulders.

Yue took a deep breath before beginning her story. "When I was born, I was very sick and very weak. Most babies are born crying, but I was born with my closed… as if I were asleep. Our healers did everything they could. They told my parents I was going to die. That night, they brought me to the spirit oasis and laid me in the water, praying to the Moon and Ocean. My dark hair turned white… I opened my eyes and began to cry, and my parents knew that I would live. That's why my mother named me Yue, for the moon."

Everyone sat eerily still. Sora hated that story; she had been born a strong, healthy baby. She had been three pounds bigger than Yue and had thrived from the second she was born. Even now, she was the tall twin, she was the bender, and she was the fighter. She often wondered if she had been a terrible sister pre-birth and that was why Yue had been so weak.

Sora stood up on the saddle and looked at the moon. It was almost gray now instead of the usual pale blue that matched her eyes. They had to save the Moon Spirit; she promised her people that the North would not fall today.

Aang steered Appa back to the sprit oasis. It was filled with Fire Nation soldiers, including a middle aged, bushy one who wore no mask. He was holding a bag above his head that was dripping wet with water.

"One of the koi fish!" Sora exclaimed, leaning over the saddle.

"That's the moon spirit!" Aang explained. "Come on Buddy, hurry," the airbender said to Appa. Both Sora and Katara slid off their parkas so they could fight easier.

"Zhao, the moonslayer, Zhao the invin-" the mask-less firebender was cut off when Momo jumped on his head and started yanking at his sideburns. "Get it off! Get it off!" he yelled, but the lemur had caused enough distraction for the bison to land and its passengers to get into stances. Sora bent a ring of flowing water around her waist, ready to shoot it off in streams at whoever dared challenge her.

"Put it down!" Aang shouted, his staff angled to sweep away all the Fire Nation in the oasis.

The mask-less firebender held his fist against the bag threateningly causing all the teenagers to drop their stances and weapons and hold their hands up in surrender. Sora felt her heart constrict in her chest. They had to do whatever it took… they could not let the moon spirit be slain. She would could to the worst Fire Nation prison in the world in exchange for its life.

"Please," Aang begged, trying to reason with him. "Killing the moon spirit will hurt more than the Water Tribe. It will hurt everyone, even you."

"This is my destiny," the firebender growled back, his fist still against the bag, ready to fire at any time.

"He's right," another voice said from the shadows. An old, short, fat man stepped forward. He was dressed in Fire Nation attire and his eyes were golden. He had a proper white top knot and beard. "We all depend on the balance, Zhao."

"General Iroh," Zhao said in an un-amused tone. "Why am I not surprised by your treachery?"

"I'm not traitor, Zhao. The Avatar is right. We all depend on the balance," he said, bringing his arms into a firebending stance. "Whatever you do to that spirit, I will release on you tenfold… let it go now!" he hollered.

Zhao's eye began to twitch and the air around him grew uncomfortably hot. The older firebender, who was seemingly on the Water Tribe's side, held his stance firm, not blinking or flinching.

A second paused. Sora's lungs felt like they would burst from her held breath. Then, Zhao deposited the bag into the water. The koi fish swiftly began to circle and find its rhythm with its partner. Sora released her breath of relief, her shoulders sagging. General Iroh got out of his stance and Yue finally slid off the bison.

Just as fast as relief flooded over them, sheer terror returned greater than ever. Zhao let out a scream of furry and slammed a huge wave of flame at the water, scorching the white koi fish. Sora's jaw dropped as her eyes simultaneously snapped to the sky. The Moon, the power of her people, vanished from the sky.

The next few seconds passed in a blur. General Iroh leapt towards Zhao, kicking fire at him. The firebenders began to defend him, but the older man seemed to have the talent of a great master and subdued them quickly. Yue crashed to the ground, unable to support her own weight. Zhao disappeared into the shadows. Sora tried to gather water to her to stop him, but her bending had been taken. Aang numbly walked to the koi fish pond and fell to his knees.

Sokka rushed over to Yue to help her stand, guiding him over to the pond. Katara stood behind Aang and General Iroh came up beside him and scooped the fish out of the pond.

Sora felt a wave of nausea at the sight and rushed over to his side. "I can heal it! I can heal this!" she said, her voice cracking at the end as she brought water up from the oasis and to the fish. It glowed blue but nothing was happening. "No! No! No! No! This has to work!" she screamed. "Why isn't this working?" her eyes shot up to the older man holding the moon spirit as if he had the answer, but he just sadly shook his head. The water in Sora's hands dropped to the ground as she pulled away, balling her hands into fists.

"It's …over," Yue whispered, the words felt like a push off a cliff into an endless abyss. Over.

"No," a louder voice said from Iroh's other side. Sora peered through wet eyelashes. It had been Aang but his voice was nearly unrecognizable. Sora's eyes widened when she saw that his eyes and tattoos were glowing. "It's not over!"

The Avatar slowly stood and began to walk in a straight line into the pond. Katara reached for him, but Iroh held out his arm to stop her. The koi fish that was left, the Ocean Spirit swam in front of him. Aang's hands were together in the same position they had been when he had meditated. The Ocean Sprit's eyes glowed the same color as his for a split second before the Avatar plunged into the pond.

The water began do glow, starting at the center where Aang had disappeared and steadily growing into the waterways that fed the pond. The water began to shift towards the center as if someone was pulling it with bending. It began to rise up, taking the form of a large fish – and Aang was in the center controlling it.

Sora's jaw dropped and she instantly dropped into a deep bow, her forehead touching the wet grass below. Everyone in the oasis did the same. The spirit that had fused with Aang glanced at them for a moment before moving out of the garden, heading straight for the Fire Nation troops.

Katara stood up and walked to the edge of the oasis. "Will he…" she trailed off, unable to finish her sentence.

"The Avatar has the ability to fuse with spirits without being harmed," Iroh said, casting a sideways glance. "He will be able to liberate the North and remain unharmed."

Sora turned her attention back to the dead Moon Spirit before her. "I still can't save it," she whispered.

Iroh looked straight at her. "No… you can't," he paused, his eyes flicking to Yue, "but you can." Yue looked up in surprise, tear stains down her cheeks. "You were blessed by the Moon Spirit," Iroh explained.

Yue sucked in a shaky breath. "Yes, the Moon Spirit gave me life. Maybe I can give it back," she said determinedly, rising to a stand with shaking knees.

"No!" Sora and Sokka both yelled at the same time, Sokka grabbing her hand and Sora her shoulders.

"I promised your father I would protect you," Sokka insisted.

"I have to do this," Yue answered, her voice level.

"No, Yue," Sora whispered. She whirled back around to Iroh. "Isn't there a way for me to…"

He was shaking his head before she even had a chance to push out the question. "Sora," Yue began, grabbing her attention. "I am the princess of the North. I have to do this."

The blessed girl pulled her hand out of Sokka's grip and pushed past her sister to where Iroh held to scorched body. She held her hands over the wound and closed her eyes. The contact between them glowed the same color as Aang's tattoos had moments before and then she fell down, her last breath leaving her.

Sokka caught her and held his gloved hand to her face. "She's gone," he whispered. Sora's eyes began to water and a knot formed in her throat. She swallowed hard but her tears began to fall despite how hard she was trying to hold them back. Iroh gently set the now lively fish back into the pond and the moon returned to the sky, its soft glow once against illuminating the night sky in blue rays.

The warm body in Sokka's arms began to fade until it vanished. A choked sob forced its way passed Sora's lips and she clasped her hand over her mouth. The moonlight in front of her began to shimmer, creating the image of Yue dressed in long, white robes. "I will always watch over you, Sister," the apparition said, placing a kiss on Sora's forehead.

It faded before reappearing in front of Sokka and taking his face to fully kiss him. "Goodbye Sokka," she whispered. "I will always be with you."

And then she was gone, becoming one with the moon spirit.

Sora felt a rage build up from deep within her. "They killed her," she growled. The water that had been sprinkled on the ground throughout the various fights began to bubble up and close in on her, creating a layer of ice over her clothes and skin. "They killed my sister."

* * *

**Hi Everyone,**

**Wow, this story has gotten such a positive response for the first two chapters - thank you so much for reading, following, and reviewing. So we finally got to see Zuko in this chapter... even though it was just a fight scene. Yay Zuko!**

Speaking of "Yay Zuko" ... did you guys watch the trailer for Korra Season three? Because, ermergerd... ZUKO!


	4. Ice Warrior

The waterbender's body seemed to be immune to the cold and the water crept over her, turning to sheer ice as soon as it made contact with her. It covered her from her shoes all the way up her leggings, dress, and neck and then down her sleeves and hands, spikes forming over her fingertips. The solid water became flexible with her control of it and became a suit of shimmering armor, letting only her head be exposed.

Katara turned to face her when she heard the high, brittle sound. Sora looked even taller and terrifyingly threatening. Her blue eyes had grown dark. The younger girl opened her mouth but quickly snapped it back closed.

Iroh took a step to her with her arms out as if she was a wounded animal, but she lashed out her arm to release the spikes in response. He stepped out of the way of them and lowered his arms. Sora sent him an icy glare conveying the message that she would attack anyone who came near her.

Using her bending, she created a stream to lift her up over the wall of the garden instead of the door and then brought it down as a trail of ice she could surf. There were two firebenders right outside the door of the oasis; no doubt Zhao had left them there to extend his escape time. They began to shoot small balls of fire at her as she lowered herself. They hit her ice armor causing it to melt slightly, but she was able to quickly refreeze it, nullifying their attacks.

Each of them stopped firing when she landed in front of them completely unharmed, as if they were clueless as what to do with the threat. Sora threw her arms back and then forward, pulling the water from the waterway behind her and using it to slam the two solders into the wall, freezing them to it completely. She sent them one last glare before using water to surf away, determined to freeze every last Fire Nation Soldier she came across. They killed her sister.

Sora the Ice Warrior began her rampage.

The next Fire Nation she came across was a group of tanks. Sora charged up to them, any natural fear that she should've felt had been completely erased by overwhelming rage. The tanks stopped in two rows of three and prepared to fire. Sora moved quickly to expend them before they could. She threw her hand forward and clenched her knuckles without closing her fist. The tanks were heavy but her bending was strong. The ice road that they were on became slick and tilted at an angle, slowly depositing them all into the ocean.

On of the tank controllers opened the lid and tried to crawl out. Sora lifted her hand to him, ready to enclose him in an icy prison, but something happened that she was not ready for. The man stiffened when she moved, his arms contorting in a weird way. Sora released the tension in her fingers and he fell back down the hole. She blinked and looked down at her ice covered fingers, shaking her head slightly before running forward.

The sounds of blasts and bursts clambered through her eardrums. Sora turned to the sound to see whips and balls of flames being shot at each other coming from a nearby bridge. The pulsing hatred of fire seemed to run through her veins as she jumped on the waterway, creating an ice-board to surf it until she came to the bridge. The water gathered around her waist and deposited her on the ledge.

Both people on it turned to face her, one was the scarred prince and the other was the man who was directly responsible for Yue's death. They paused their fighting and looked at her as if confused by her presence.

"You," Sora growled in an animalistic voice dripping with hatred, seemingly forgetting the prince was there. She threw one of her spike-tipped hands out towards Zhao. He stiffened in the same way the last man had. "My sister gave her life because of what you did." She stepped off the ledge as she spoke, raising her hand slightly. Zhao's body lifted off the bridge, following the movements she commanded.

"What… are you… doing to me?" he gasped out, choking between each phrase.

Sora swung her arm, throwing his body into the wall of the bridge, her spikes following. At the last second, he brought his arms up in a crisscross to protect his throat, though one of the spikes still grazed his cheek.

"I am killing you," she answered, creating fresh spikes on her fingertips. Her feet stalked towards him and he tried to stand but Sora threw out her hand once again, holding him in place. "I am killing you just like you killed her." She threw her hand up to send him flying in the air then released the tension in her palms so he would crash back down.

Zhao groaned and held a hand to the back of his head where he had landed. "You're the princess aren't you," he sneered at her. "I won't be killed by some royal water witch." He thrust his arm out to shoot fire at her but it just disintegrated into steam when it hit her ice suit.

Sora threw both of her spiked hands at him, releasing the skewers at an alarmingly fast pace. He tried to bring his arms up to protect himself again, but her moves here too quick. One grazed his neck and the other punctured it, though it wasn't at the spot that would kill him. Blood dripped down onto his shirt. She created new spikes and lifted her arm up to throw them when a force slammed into her side, tackling her to the ground.

Sora felt the wind being knocked out of her as she skidded off the bridge with the weight of another person above her. Gasping, she blinked rapidly to clear her vision and saw the scarred prince hovering above her. He scrambled off of her before she had time to react and looked back at the bridge. Sora hopped up, ready to attack him but stopped when she saw why he had sacked her.

The ocean, glowing with spiritual energy, created a claw and reached around the bridge to wrap around Zhao and pull him off and into the icy waters below. Sora whirled her arm to get one last attack on him and it borrowed into his neck. He gasped, blood pouring out his mouth as his eyes widened in shock before sinking below the ocean and out of sight. If Sora's ice didn't kill him, then he would certainly drown to death.

And then it was quiet. Only the heavy, panting breath of Sora could be heard on this street. The ice suite expanded and shrunk with each breath, causing it to catch various lights and shimmers. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't catch her breath.

She heard the sound of a step moving away from her and whirled around. Sora had almost forgotten about the scarred prince of the Fire Nation. He was stepping away from her timidly, his arms tense as if he were ready to bring them up and attack if she did first.

Sora took her own step back and away from him, her face tilting up to the moon… up to Yue. The heavy breaths pushing passed her throat became shallower. Air… she needed air. The world around her began to spin slightly and she brought a hand up to her head and closed her eyes, taking yet another step back. The prince suddenly lunged at her, hand out. She reflexively flung her spikes at him, though she couldn't tell which direction they went as it now felt like she was falling.

The scarred prince was now entirely too close, but she could get her limbs to work and push him away. She felt like she was floating and her vision began to close in until it became completely black.

* * *

Zuko reached out to grab the tribal girl's hand as she fainted, falling into the water, but he wasn't fast enough. His fingers just brushed over her own ice-covered ones, but the extreme heat he gave off caused them to become slick and slide out of his grip.

He took a step back as she landed hard enough to create a large splash. The ice armor she had encased herself in caused her to float. Zuko blinked, wondering where the waterway let out. But, he didn't have time to stand there and think about it. He also didn't have time to waste on a waterbender who had clearly tried to keep him from the Avatar. So, the prince turned his back to the Ice Warrior and went to find his uncle.

* * *

Fire. That's what it felt like: fire burning her lungs from the inside.

Sora's eyes flew open only to be stung with the pain of saltwater in them. She opened her mouth reflexively to relieve herself of this burning only to swallow a mouthful of water. Panic began to consume her; she was drowning. How did she get in the water? How far down was she? Which way was up?

There would be a bit of comedic irony in a waterbending drowning; the thought popped in her head almost as a reminder of her powers. Spreading out her limbs, she slammed the water away from her forcefully, creating her own personal bubble. Gasping and coughing, Sora felt salt water being violently pushed back out of her lungs and out her mouth to be replaced by sweet air. It was hard to maintain the bubble while hacking up what felt like an entire ocean, but she managed it because her life depended on it.

Finally able to take long, deep breaths, Sora once again opened her eyes. She must've been fairly deep as it was pitch black. The bubble she created for herself began to naturally float to the surface. Sora patiently waited for it to break through, almost groaning in relief when the water around her began to have some light.

A moment passed and she could not see the surface only a few feet away. Breaking the bubble, she used her bending to propel her the rest of the way to the surface, breaking through it with a crash. The air felt so good and Sora had never been happier to be out from under water. She breathed in deeply through her nose before pushing out her hand to create a decent sized ice platform to crawl on.

That's when she noticed the stillness, the quietness, and examined the area she was in. There was no ice palace, no great walls, no people or boats. She was in the middle of the ocean. Brand new panic left a sinking pit in her stomach as she once again swept her vision around.

Something in the distance caught her eye. About a hundred feet away from her seemed to be another platform, this one made of wood, and on the platform… people? Two people to be exact: one waving to her with both arms to try and get her attention and the other leaning against a makeshift sail.

Without missing a beat, Sora flung her arms back to propel her makeshift raft towards them. Maybe they were members of her tribe out looking for her and she really wasn't that far away. But, the closer she got, the more she found that unlikely. The one getting her attention was wearing deep red and was short and fat. The other was wearing all white. The one in white grabbed the shorter one by the shoulders and said something, gesturing to Sora. He turned his head slightly to reveal a deep burn scar covering his eye and a ponytail coming off of an otherwise bald scalp: the Fire Nation Prince.

Sora was so startled that she forgot she was supposed to be bending. The ice raft came to a sudden, lurching its passenger foreword. The princess let out a startled cry as she flew into the ocean.

Frustrated at the circumstance, Sora pushed her way to the surface, mentally grumbling to herself. They were closer now, directing their platform towards her when they saw her fall. Sora bit her lip as she treaded the water, not sure of the best decision in this circumstance. Her instinct was to fight. They were Fire Nation and this is Water Tribe waters – she thinks. Her other option is to make another raft and propel it away from them. She could easily get away with her bending. Or, she could get on their raft. That would probably be the wisest thing to do since she had no idea how far she was from her home and no sense of direction until the stars came out.

Letting out an exaggerated sigh, Sora swam in their direction. The shorter man seemed quite pleased with her decision. As she got closer, Sora recognized him as the firebender who helped save the Moon Spirit. The realization helped calm her nerves slightly; he had been strong enough to take her down but instead he fought against the Fire Nation to help the North. Her intuition told her that he would not harm her.

She reached the raft and wrapped her fingertips around the edge of it, ignoring the hand that was offered to her. She sloshed onto it and winced at the sound, holding a hand up to glance at her palm. Sure enough, it was wrinkled from over-exposure to the water.

"When I saw you floating in the ocean, I was worried we wouldn't get to you in time," the older man, who she remembered as Iroh, said.

"Time for what?" Sora asked, her own voice startling her. It was crackling and raw.

"To get to you," Iroh explained. "We were on our way to you when all the sudden you just sunk."

Sora blinked slowly, trying to put the pieces together. She realized she was still laying down while Iroh kneeled over her. Zuko watched her warily from a distance. She forced her stiff muscles to get her into at least a sitting position. The memories of her moments before she lost conciseness began to slowly replay in her mind.

She turned her attention to the prince. "Did you _push_ me into the water?"

Zuko scowled at her. "You fainted. I was trying to catch you," he snapped.

Sora opened her mouth to make a sassy remark but she felt Iroh's gently hand on her arm. "Is that the last thing you remember?" he asked solemnly. She nodded once in answer. He sighed and sat back on his heels. "That happened three days ago."

"_WHAT?" _Sora yelled loud enough for Iroh to wince. "You have to be lying. There is no way I floated around, unconscious for three days."

The old man smiled ruefully at her. "I'm afraid that must be the case."

Sora tried to jump into a stand only to find her legs too stiff to work. "Which way is north?" she demanded. "We need to get there."

"No," Zuko snapped. "If we go to the North they'll have us executed."

"Fine," Sora spat, whipping her head back to glare at him. "Then I'll go myself." She once again tried to stand, this time managing to get upright – barely.

"Princess Sora," Iroh began gently.

"How do you know who I am?"

He continued, ignoring her question, "Perhaps it would not be a wise decision to set out on your own. You will get tired and need to rest which could cause you to go off course and get lost. Or a storm could come, or an orca may mistake you for a snack. It would be wiser to travel as a group."

"Not if we're traveling in different directions!" Sora retorted.

"When we get to land, you can have a ship chartered to take you back home. I'm sure many captains would do it at the promise of the reward they would get for returning the Water Tribe Princess," Iroh offered.

Sora blinked, considering him. What he said did make sense. It would be dangerous to go back alone and they would be killed if they came back with her. Either that or used as hostages. She could make them promises of her protection from her people, but they would be empty; no one would listen to her. And finding a charter ship wouldn't be too difficult.

Feeling her knees wobble, Sora lowered herself back into a sitting position, tucking her legs underneath her. "Alright," she answered. "I'll stay."

Iroh gave her a cheeky grin. "Excellent!"

Zuko coughed once causing the other two passengers to glance at him. Iroh let out a small chuckle. "Why don't we introduce ourselves?"

Sora wanted to groan at the suggestion.

"I'm Iroh and this is my nephew Prince Zuko," he said.

"We've already met each other," Zuko groaned, rolling his eyes.

Sora scowled at him. "Yeah, when you came barging into our garden to take Aang, Arsehole!"

"_What _did you just call me?" Zuko snapped back at her.

"An arsehole because that's what you are!" she yelled back.

Zuko narrowed his eyes at her. "At least I'm not a crazy Ice Witch!"

"I am not a witch!" Sora snarled.

Iroh sighed and tuned out the rest of the teenagers argument, instead staring at the horizon of ocean.

* * *

**Hi Everyone,**

**I apologize at how short this chapter is. I try to target my chapters between 4K and 5K and this isn't even 3K. But, I just felt like this is where the chapter needed to end or there would be waaaay to much going on for a single update.**

**Just a note that I love Frozen, but this isn't like Elsa's dress. I've had this vision in my head when I first came up with this OC many, many months ago. It is a layer of ice that coats her existing clothes and skin. It's thick, but she can make it flexible because of her bending. Honestly, don't know if the ATLA bending mechanics work like that, but they do for this story.**

Also, thank you SO much everyone you reviewed. It's really encouraging to get feedback and to know people enjoy your writing. And it gets me in the mood to write more right away. 


	5. Conversing with the Enemy

Sora slowly became aware of her surroundings, though she kept her eyes closed, not quite ready to fully wake up. She heard voices.

"No, I'm staying up. One of always needs to be awake so she doesn't freeze us and throw us in the ocean!" the aggravated prince was doing the voice of someone who wanted to yell while still whispering.

"She isn't a murderer," Iroh said nonchalantly. Sora inwardly flinched at his words. "She's not going to do that." The raft shifted slightly as he laid down.

Zuko didn't answer his uncle. Sora squeezed her eyes tighter; trying to fall back to sleep but then Iroh started snoring. She realized there was absolutely no way she would get anymore rest with that racket and opened her eyes.

Zuko was staring right at her, unblinking. Sora scowled at him, her nose wrinkling. "What are you looking at?"

The prince's eyes narrowed. "You didn't just wake up," he observed.

Sora blinked slowly, understanding his implication. She sat up slowly, bracing her weight on her hands. "I didn't," she admitted, her voice soft to him for the first time.

Zuko look away from her and out into the ocean. He was sitting a safe distance from her, the scarred half of his face towards her. Sora absently began to fiddle with her fingers to avoid looking at him. They had returned to their normal firmness. Her clothes and hair were not so lucky though. They were dry, but weighed down from being in salt water for three days.

"Can you bend us to land faster?" Zuko asked, his eyes flicking to the waning moon.

Sora wanted to slap herself in the head for not thinking of it sooner. Lazily, she maneuvered so she was sitting with her legs tucked beneath her and her back in the direction they wanted to go. She held her hands out and spread her fingers open to propel them forward at a steady pace.

Zuko nodded once at her before reaching in his bag and pulling out what appeared to be jerky, offering it to her. She looked at him skeptically triggering an eyeroll. "It's not poisoned," he grumbled. "Why would I poison you now?"

"You're the Fire Nation prince!" she answered furiously. "You invaded my home and killed my sister!"

Her blue eyes were so cold that Zuko thought she might possess some witchcraft that could freeze him in his spot. "I'm sorry about your sister," he said quietly.

Sora felt a lump grow in her throat and swallowed hard, pushing down her sorrow only to have it bubble back up as anger. "You didn't know her," she whispered, growing frustrated from the slight quiver in her voice that she hoped the firebender wouldn't notice. "She was the perfect princess and the symbol of our people. She was kind and loyal and she didn't deserve to die. She never learned how to fight – it was my job to protect her and I couldn't. The Fire Nation just came in and took her away from me. So, don't you sit there and tell me you're sorry when you don't know anything."

She finished her mini speech and waited for Zuko to get angry with her… but he didn't.

The waterbender dared to glance at him to see him looking straight up at the moon contemplatively. "My uncle told me what happened. I know your sister was brave and I know Zhou is …" he never finished is thought, so Sora did it for him.

"Dead," she offered. It sounded so final. "Your uncle was wrong – I am a murderer. You know it."

"He would've died anyway. The Ocean Spirit killed him," he pointed out.

"I slit his throat open with ice," Sora growled. "You can't swim away from that."

"No, you can't," Zuko admitted.

The two fell into silence for a long moment, Sora concentrating on her bending and Zuko ostensibly lost in thought. Sora snuck a few glances at him, trying to read him. She didn't feel that he was saying his words out of sympathy, good thing too or she would've pushed him off the raft, but genuineness. She wondered how he got his scar, but it wasn't her place to ask such things. After all, being a Princess of the North, she was taught manners. But, there was something else that was bothering her, something that she felt was appropriate to ask given the circumstance.

"Why were you and Zhou fighting on the bridge?" she asked, keeping her voice light. It was her "royal voice" – the one she talked to people in when she had to be formal.

"He tried to have me killed," Zuko answered without missing a beat. It startled Sora.

"So, that's why you pushed me out of the spirit's way? And tried to catch me when I passed out? Because we had a common enemy?"

Zuko cast her a sideways glance. "Yeah, I guess so."

Sora bit the inside of her cheek. "Well, thank you," she mumbled, adverse to the idea of showing gratitude to anyone from the Fire Nation, let alone the prince.

"I thought that someone from your tribe would notice you. I didn't expect for you to float all the way out here. Uncle wanted me to jump in the water and find you when you sunk below the surface."

Sora let out an unladylike snort. "I'm glad you didn't. That would've been awkward."

Zuko rolled his eyes. She had a feeling that she would get very used to seeing that on their journey. "I was about it," he told her. "Right when you popped up."

"I can keep myself from drowning," Sora retorted. "I'm from the Water Tribe."

"You were unconscious."

"I don't need you to save me!"

"Just a second ago you were thanking me!"

"I take it back!"

A snort from behind them caused both teens to snap their heads in Iroh's direction. He scrunched up his face and shifted slightly in his sleep. They grew quiet and glared at each other before once again returning to the silence. This time Sora noticed him watching her out of the corner of his eye. "If you have a question just ask it!" she said in the voice people used when they wanted to whisper and yell at the same time.

"Why didn't everyone in the North have ice armor?" he asked, his tone annoyed, but she could tell he really wanted to know.

"Are you trying to get our tribe's secrets for another attack?" she hissed.

His eyes narrowed. "I'm not Zhou."

"You're going to be Fire Lord one day," she pointed out. He grew _very _quiet at her statement, not even taking a breath. It startled Sora, so she answered his question honestly, letting out a rueful sigh first. "I never did that before." He raised his eyebrow and watched her intently. "I was just so angry and upset that my body reacted on its own. I don't know if I could recreate it. Though, I never really had the need for anything like that. I only ever had one sparring partner and you were the first time I was in combat."

The look he gave her told her that he didn't believe her. "It's true," she answered, her voice growing tired the more she spoke on this topic.

"Why would you only have one sparring partner?" he asked.

She turned her head to face him. They slowed down slightly due to her lack of concentration. "Did you notice anything about the other benders?"

Zuko rolled his eyes (again) and grumbled, "I was avoiding them."

"Well, they were all men," she huffed, returning her attention to her task. "Every single person fighting you was a man. Well, except me and Katara obviously.

"Why?" he asked dumbfounded. It was as if he expected some crazy story about how a large group of females caught some awful disease.

"That's just how the North is. The men learn to fight, women don't. Female benders learn how to heal. My friend taught me how to fight," Sora was growing annoyed at having to spell everything out for him. "What, does the Fire Nation have no rules like that?"

"No," he answered honestly.

She turned back to him, "What?"

"No," Zuko repeated. "My sister was taught by the same masters I was. She even…" once again he trailed off.

"I was told that the Fire Nation was like that. I didn't fully believe it though. It's something the North considers barbaric," Sora mumbled.

Zuko glared at her. "The Fire Nation is the most advanced country in the world."

"And the cruelest!" she retorted. He opened his mouth but she cut him off, continuing her original thought. "But I don't consider training women barbaric."

Zuko grumbled something under his breath.

"What was that?" she quipped.

"Nothing," he snapped. Then his hand reached to the bridge of his nose and pinched it as if he was trying to calm himself down. "Why don't you just change it when you take over?"

"I _won't _take over," she explained. "When my father dies, a new chief will be appointed. I'm not really sure how they decide who- I was never allowed to know. But, either way, I would've had to move in with my husband. He would've been given a high military position."

"What if you never got married?" he asked the question that would seem logical to most.

"Are you dense?" Sora snapped. "My father chooses a husband for me. It's a great honor to marry a princess and it happens between our sixteenth and seventeenth birthdays."

"You're married?" he asked, his voice growing louder at the shock.

"How old do you think I am?" she grumbled. "I know I'm tall, but I'm only sixteen. I've been this height for three years."

Zuko cleared his throat awkwardly.

Sora sighed and brought her hand down. The raft slowed down, once again moving at the pace of the current. "I was engaged though. To someone who was once my friend. I don't even know if he lived or not… I refused to wear the necklace he made for me."

Zuko felt exceedingly awkward by this point and highly regretted probing her. She could sense his discomfort and quickly returned to pushing the raft forward.

A long while passed with nothing be said. The moon went behind a cloud making it darker and the prince looked like he was dosing off. His lids would close and then he would blink them rapidly to wake himself back up. His shoulders slumped and his chin tilted down.

Sora smirked at him. "I promise I won't kill you in your sleep," she told him. He glared at her but seemed to accept that she would try to freeze and or drown him in some terrifying icy armor. Gingerly, he spread out next to his uncle and closed his eyes, letting himself rest.

Sora watched him until she was certain that he had fallen completely into the land of dreamers. Satisfied, she turned her face up to the moon. The cloud that was blocking it moved on, once again letting its soft glow illuminate the barren ocean. "I miss you Yue," she whispered. Her eyes closed and the tears that she had been holding in unwillingly fell down her cheeks. She kept her choked sob as quiet as could be as not to wake the sleeping men, but, for the first time, wept for the loss of her sister.

* * *

Zuko heard the squeaky whimper and opened his eyes into slits. Sora had stopped bending and now had her knees pulled up to her chest and her face hidden in them. Her shoulders were shuddering and he realized that she was crying. A pit began to grow in his stomach. He quickly closed his eyes and, unsuccessfully, tried to ignore the princess.

* * *

Sora searched for anything the resembled a water skin within the small bag that they had filled with food before setting the raft off. It was mostly filled with jerky but there was a flask that she greedily pulled out. It was about three fourths full, indicating that they had been rationing it. She wanted to greedily drink the whole thing but knew that she would only screw herself over in the process.

"Help yourself," a kind voice said from behind her, startling her to the point that she almost dropped it.

She blushed slightly and turned to face him. "Sorry Iroh. I didn't want to wake you but I was quite thirsty."

He grinned at her. "You're very welcome to it."

"Thank you," she said graciously, taking a slow sip to make it last as long as possible.

"That's enough," a different voice snapped at her. She pulled the canteen away from her lips to glare at the now awake prince. How could he already be up? He just went to bed three hours ago.

Zuko was next to her and yanking the flask out of her hands in the blink of an eye. She glared at him as he closed the cap.

"Prince Zuko," his uncle reprimanded. "She is thirsty."

"We're all thirsty!" he snapped back. "We need to ration this. Who knows how long we'll be out here."

"Hopefully not long," Sora mumbled, knowing that he wasn't really looking for an answer. "I got us pretty far overnight."

"Then keep going," Zuko barked at her, looking down at her kneeling form.

Sora stood up so they were eye level. "You listen here!" she yelled. "I am _not _some Fire Nation crony that you can boss around. I am the Princess of the North!" She flicked her arm up and brought it down right away causing water from the ocean to jump up directly over Zuko and dump all over him. Iroh tried to soften the chuckles coursing through his body.

Satisfied, Sora sat back down, tucking her legs underneath her and folding her hands in her lap. Zuko huffed angrily behind her and tilted his head up, shooting a large mass of fire in the air from his mouth. The princess knew she had thoroughly annoyed him to the point of anger and was oddly proud of herself at the fact.

"You're insane!" he shouted at her.

"I'm not the one shooting fire into the air like a crazy person. At least I bended at someone," she felt like the retort was perfect until she thought about what the entailed.

"If I bended at you, you might not live," Zuko's voice had grown serious.

Sora's muscles relaxed slightly. He had a point; he could've just as easily bended at her, but his would seriously hurt her. Her bending just caused him to get wet. She didn't answer him and stubbornly through her hand out to push the raft forward. Her hand had begun to cramp from continuously bending for so long and she had wanted to take a break. But, she needed to get off this raft as soon as possible – this crazy prince was making her consider things she'd rather not think about.

* * *

The day passed slowly… very slowly. Sora had never really appreciated how much there was to do in the North until she was on a raft doing absolutely nothing. She bended them in spurts until she felt she absolutely could no longer hold up her hand that day. Still, they made very good distance. Iroh commented that she pushed them further in that single day than they had naturally floated for the first three.

It was dusk now. Sora glanced over to her companions. Zuko was scowling while he lit and extinguished a flame in his hand over and over again. Iroh was lying down and humming a soft tune to himself. She bit the inside of her cheek indecisively before coming to the conclusion that since they were Fire Nation, they probably had no qualms about women being bare-legged.

Leaning forward, Sora yanked off her boots before sliding her dress and leggings up to her knees. She glanced over her shoulder and found that neither of them seemed to notice, or, if they did, they just didn't seem all that worried about it. Her father would've needed a trip to the healers if he saw his daughter show her bare legs around men. Blinking once, she slowly dipped her legs into the cold water of the ocean and bit back the sigh of relief. It was not hot as they were still very far north, but the sun had been beating down on them all day. The princess began to swirl and kick her legs randomly, watching how the water contorted with her movements.

Sora then decided her feet and legs shouldn't have all the fun. She pushed her sleeves up to her elbows and leaned forward to also let them swirl in the ocean. True, she could've just bent the water out of her cloth and do this the "proper way" (as proper as things like this come) but that would leave her already crunchy clothes even saltier than before. Besides that, it felt nice to have to ocean directly touched her skin. Water was soft.

"That's a pretty trinket," the older man on the raft commented, peering over at Sora. She hadn't noticed he had stopped humming. At his words, Zuko also stopped what he was doing and glanced over at her. Sora raised her eyebrows, confused. "The bracelet," he explained.

Sora glanced down at her wrist to see her father's birthday present to her. "Oh," she said simply. "It was a gift." She pulled her hand out of the water and inspected it. The ocean left little droplets on the charm.

"I thought you said that you didn't wear what your fiancé gave you," Zuko said. She wasn't sure if he was annoyed with her or if his voice just always sounded that way.

"I didn't," she snapped, glaring at him over her shoulder. "This is from my father. He gave the exact same one to my sister," she finished quietly. The moon and sky, she thought to herself, the symbols of the North. "I suppose I could use this for collateral to help me charter a ship," she forced the words out as if she needed to convince herself. Truth be told, she did not want to part with this bracelet.

"It is more than just a piece of jewelry," Iroh observed.

Sora looked up at him. "What do mean?" she snapped. "Of course it's just a piece of jewelry." She held her hand up and waved her wrist around as if to prove that there was nothing spiritual or magic about it.

"It is important to you because it makes you feel close to your sister. You should not be rid of it unless absolutely necessary," the wise, old man said in a voice that only a wise, old man could achieve.

Sora scowled and sent a glance at the prince as if she expected him to support her decision. But, he wasn't paying attention to either of them. Instead, he was watching the sky looking angsty. Sora followed his gaze and realized why – a dark rain cloud was closing in upon them.

"It doesn't look like a full blown storm," she whispered quietly, though there was a bit of fear hitching in her voice. Zuko glanced back at her over his shoulder.

"Your right," Iroh said, also looking in that direction. "We'll all be fine, no reason to fear."

"I'm not scared," Sora responded a little too quickly earning a smirk from Zuko. "What are you laughing at?" she demanded.

"I wasn't laughing," he responded, his voice dry.

She sputtered frustratingly and turned back around, splashing water in his direction without using her bending. He growled in response, "Will you stop splashing me?"

"I'm a waterbender. It's what I do," she answered tartly.

"You are the most infuriating girl I've ever met!" he exploded.

"Well you are the biggest arsehole I ever met!" she hollered right back at him.

Iroh let out an exasperated sigh. Zuko had met his match and his poor eardrums were taking the toll.

* * *

The rain started as a drizzle but soon turned into an outright downpour. The sea grew a little angrier but not to a threatening point. Zuko and Iroh huddled together, conserving their warmth. Sora sat opposite them, wrapping her arms around herself to keep warm. She had attempted to keep the rain off her with her bending, but being on a raft combine with the wind and heaviness made it impossible so she gave up. Zuko tried to light a fire in his palm for them, but the rain was too hard and it would just go right out again.

"Come sit by us," Iroh suggested gently. "Sitting by yourself is not worth getting sick."

Sora glared at him from under her wet eyelashes. "I'm fine," she growled. "I apparently spent three days floating around in a suite of ice. A little rain won't bother me."

Iroh opened his mouth to reply so she continued. "Besides," she reached into their pack and pulled out the canteen, "I need to refill this."

First she began to roll the water into mouth size balls and bend them into her mouth to fully quench her thirst. Iroh looked like he was going to drool while Zuko just glared at her as if he expected her not to share. But, she wasn't cruel. She began to make more little balls and bend them Iroh until he had his fill. Then she turned her attention to Zuko. He hesitated as she hovered the water just in front of his lips. She gave him a look that said _"are you really going to be this much of an arse" _and he opened his mouth for her. After the first gulp went down, he greedily accepted this rest, enjoying the feeling of clean water running down his throat.

That task complete, she began to stream the water into the flask until it was filled to the brim. "Thank you, Princess Sora," Iroh said gratefully.

She opened her mouth to proclaim she didn't do it for them but snapped it back closed because, well yeah, some of that was just for them.

Zuko once again tried to light a fire. It lit for a few second before extinguishing, causing him to growl with frustration.

Sora sighed and scooted closer to him. She bended the rain that was falling above his hand into a type of dome that would protect it from her own element. Zuko looked up at her, surprised and took the opportunity to light a flickering flame. With their combined bending, they were able to keep the flame alit.

Sora smiled, enjoying the feeling of the heat against the back of her hand that was protecting it. Iroh partook, shoving both his hands near Zuko's flame to warm them. Sora dared scoot a little closer to get more comfortable, her knee bumping the firebender's.

The tiny flame was… cute in a way. She had never really just sat down and stared at fire, but now she was noticing all the ways it flowed and danced. "And that doesn't hurt you at all?" she murmured the stupid question knowing full well the answer. Zuko gave her a look and she felt a slight blush rise to her cheeks at her silly musings. "Is it… does it feel soft?"

"What?" Zuko deadpanned. Iroh chuckled.

"You know," Sora grumbled, becoming annoyed at her embarrassment and his response. "The flame. Is it… soft? It looks like it would be if you couldn't feel the pain of it."

Zuko shrugged. "I can't really feel it anymore," he admitted. Sora opened her mouth to retort that of course he could feel it; he was holding it after all. But, glancing down, she noticed that the parts of his palm she could see were white and cracking slightly: heavily calloused. She bit down on her tongue, not wanting to be rude.

Part of her was very tempted to see for herself, though she knew that would end poorly. She instead continued to watch it burn and enjoy its wonderful heat.

She didn't notice, but Zuko was watching her just as closely.


End file.
